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Some free & paid tools for editing / creating your own digital audio & music

On 05/15/2015, in A/V -- audio/visual, digital audio, music, new media literacies, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Free audio editors will be covered below; so this section discusses some other options that are not free:

 

AudioEditingSW-2015

 

Also you might want to consider the following tool, depending upon what you want to accomplish:

  • Garageband is a great entry level tool (with multiple tracks) that can help you record voiceovers, create your own music, add sound effects and more.

 

For some free audio editors, see:

 

Also, and more along the music-creation lines, see:

 

flat

 

A beautiful visual on the impact of music education on kids’ cognitive skills — from educatorstechnology.com

Excerpt:

Does music education really improve kids cognitive skills? The answer, in our view, is hard to determine and it requires a series of longitudinal studies across different cultural and ethnic groups. However, certain small-scale studies such as the ones cited in the visual below do provide a preliminary evidence in favour of the correlation between taking music lessons and improvement in certain cognitive skills. For instance, in a study of 96 children aged 5-7 years old, those who received 7 months of supplementary music and arts classes earned higher mathematics scores than those with the schools’ typical music and arts training. In another collection of studies that involved a larger base of participants from high schools, researchers were able to identify a strong correlation between music instruction and higher reading test scores.
…
More specifically, the visual cites six key areas positively impacted by music education: math skills, reading skills, memory, IQ, SAT scores, and planning.

 

 

iOS Synths and AudioMux Are Great Fun! — from by Paul Shimmons — where Paul mentions NanoStudio on his iPhone, LogicX, and the AudioMux app.

 

Addendum:

 

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LinkedIn’s Blockbuster deal w/ Lynda.com: What it means to the online learning industry [Meyer]

On 05/14/2015, in A/V -- audio/visual, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, education technology, elearning, lifelong learning, media/film, online learning, online media, training / L&D, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

LinkedIn’s Blockbuster deal w/ Lynda.com: What it means to the online learning industry — from forbes.com by Stephen Meyer

Excerpt:

The press coverage of LinkedIn’s recent acquisition of Lynda.com for $1.5 billion has largely overlooked a key aspect of the deal. Yes, it integrates learning into a powerful social media site. Yes, per LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, it’ll “connect our members to opportunity,” giving them access to skills training that will enhance their careers.

But what does it mean to corporate e-learning? Lynda.com, based in Carpinteria, CA, used to be strictly a consumer company, but its strategy for the past couple years has clearly been to muscle into workplace training. What does the acquisition mean to market leader Skillsoft and other providers of online corporate learning? (Disclosure: I am the CEO of Rapid Learning Institute, an e-learning company)

Well, it’s an atomic bomb.

…

What’s different is that Lynda.com’s “content producers” know they’re creating a video, a medium that operates under a different set of rules from traditional learning vehicles. Content producers know that an instructionally sound e-learning module fails if people don’t watch it.

The most important thing Lynda.com does is find credentialed subject matter experts who speak comfortably in front of a camera. That’s a one-in-20 quality. Ivy League professors who excel in a classroom often look wooden on camera. You don’t have to be pretty. In fact, actors usually bomb in e-learning. You need to be credible and hold people’s attention by combining tight scripts and captivating delivery. Lynda.com’s e-learning, especially their soft-skills content, does it better than Skillsoft and other major players in the industry.

…

The message for corporate e-learning insiders is clear: The quality of content matters.

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We need a *team-based* approach; given the trends, this has now become a requirement. [Christian]

On 05/13/2015, in adjunct faculty, blended learning, collaboration, Daniel S. Christian, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, learning theories, online learning, smart classrooms, teachers, teaching & learning, training / L&D, trends, using teams, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Learning is messy.  Teaching & learning is messy. 

In my experience, teaching is both an art and a science.  Ask anyone who has tried it and they will tell you that it’s not easy.  In fact, it takes years to hone one’s craft…and there are no silver bullets. Get a large group of Learning Theorists together in the same room and you won’t get 100% agreement on the best practices for how human beings actually learn.

Besides that, I see some issues with how we are going about trying to educate today’s learners…and as the complexity of our offerings is increasing, these issues are becoming more apparent, important, visible, and costly:

  • Professors, Teachers, & Trainers know some pieces of the puzzle.
  • Cognitive Scientists, Cognitive Psychologists, and Neuroscientists know some other pieces of the puzzle.
  • Learning Theorists and Instructional Designers know some other pieces of the puzzle.
  • Learning Space Designers know some other pieces of the puzzle.
  • And yet other specialties know about some other pieces of the puzzle.

But, in practice, how often are these specialties siloed? How much information is shared between these silos?  Are there people interpreting and distilling the neuroscience and cognitive science into actionable learning activities? Are there collaborative efforts going on here or are the Teachers, Professors, and Trainers pretty much on their own here (again, practically speaking)?

So…how do we bring all of these various pieces together? My conclusion:

We need a team-based approach in order to bring all of the necessary pieces together. We’ll never get there by continuing to work in our silos…working alone.

…

But there are other reasons why the use of teams is becoming a requirement these days: Accessibility; moving towards providing more blended/hybrid learning — including flipping the classroom; and moving towards providing more online-based learning.

Accessibility
We’re moving into a world whereby lawsuits re: accessibility are becoming more common:

Ed Tech World on Notice: Miami U disability discrimination lawsuit could have major effect — from mfeldstein.com by Phil Hill
Excerpt:
This week the US Department of Justice, citing Title II of ADA, decided to intervene in a private lawsuit filed against Miami University of Ohio regarding disability discrimination based on ed tech usage. Call this a major escalation and just ask the for-profit industry how big an effect DOJ intervention can be. From the complaint:

Miami University uses technologies in its curricular and co-curricular programs, services, and activities that are inaccessible to qualified individuals with disabilities, including current and former students who have vision, hearing, or learning disabilities. Miami University has failed to make these technologies accessible to such individuals and has otherwise failed to ensure that individuals with disabilities can interact with Miami University’s websites and access course assignments, textbooks, and other curricular and co-curricular materials on an equal basis with non-disabled students. These failures have deprived current and former students and others with disabilities a full and equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from all of Miami University’s educational opportunities.

Knowing about accessibility (especially online and via the web) and being able to provide accessible learning materials is a position in itself. Most faculty members and most Instructional Designers are not specialists in this area. Which again brings up the need for a team-based approach.

Also, when we create hybrid/blended learning-based situations and online-based courses, we’re moving some of the materials and learning experiences online. Once you move something online, you’ve entered a whole new world…requiring new skillsets and sensitivities.

The article below caused me to reflect on this topic. It also made me reflect yet again on how tricky it is to move the needle on how we teach people…and how we set up our learning activities and environments in the most optimal/effective ways. Often we teach in the ways that we were taught. But the problem is, the ways in which learning experiences can be offered these days are moving far beyond the ways us older people were taught.

 

Why we need Learning Engineers — from chronicle.com by Bror Saxberg

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Recently I wandered around the South by Southwest ed-tech conference, listening to excited chatter about how digital technology would revolutionize learning. I think valuable change is coming, but I was struck by the lack of discussion about what I see as a key problem: Almost no one who is involved in creating learning materials or large-scale educational experiences relies on the evidence from learning science.

We are missing a job category: Where are our talented, creative, user-­centric “learning engineers” — professionals who understand the research about learning, test it, and apply it to help more students learn more effectively?
…
So where are the learning engineers? The sad truth is, we don’t have an equivalent corps of professionals who are applying learning science at our colleges, schools, and other institutions of learning. There are plenty of hard-working, well-meaning professionals out there, but most of them are essentially using their intuition and personal experience with learning rather than applying existing science and generating data to help more students and professors succeed.

 

Also see:

  • Why you now need a team to create and deliver learning — from campustechnology.com by Mary Grush and Daniel Christian
    Excerpt:
    “Higher education institutions that intentionally move towards using a team-based approach to creating and delivering the majority of their education content and learning experiences will stand out and be successful over the long run.”

 

Addendum on 5/14/15:

Thinking different(ly) about university presses — from insidehighered.com by Carl Straumsheim

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Lynn University, to further its tablet-centric curriculum, is establishing its own university press to support textbooks created exclusively for Apple products.

Lynn University Digital Press, which operates out of the institution’s library, in some ways formalizes the authoring process between faculty members, instructional designers, librarians and the general counsel that’s been taking place at the private university in Florida for years. With the university press in place, the effort to create electronic textbooks now has an academic editor, style guides and faculty training programs in place to improve the publishing workflow.

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EdX and Qualcomm to build the next generation mobile learning experience

On 05/13/2015, in collaboration, mobile learning, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, vendors, by Daniel Christian

EdX and Qualcomm to build the next generation mobile learning experience — from marketwatch.com
Collaboration will help edX increase access to education for millions around the world

Excerpt:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and SAN DIEGO, May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — EdX, a nonprofit learning destination, and Qualcomm Education, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated QCOM, +1.37% the leading global provider of wireless technology, today announced a collaboration to further develop edX’s MOOC (massive open online course) mobile capabilities and enhance its open source platform to benefit connected learners around the world. As part of the collaboration, Qualcomm Education will contribute engineering resources and will license elements of its SDK code, which edX will distribute to the Open edX community.

This collaboration brings together two industry leaders who share a common vision that mobile technologies are a critical enabler for open access to education for everyone. Together they will harness the power of more than 7 billion mobile connections globally, with more than 1 million being added daily, to meet the growing demand for mobile learning.

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Ed Tech World on Notice: Miami U disability discrimination lawsuit could have major effect [Hill]

On 05/13/2015, in accessibility / UDL, blended learning, digital learning, education technology, hybrid learning, instructional design, online learning, by Daniel Christian

Ed Tech World on Notice: Miami U disability discrimination lawsuit could have major effect — from mfeldstein.com by Phil Hill

Excerpt:

This week the US Department of Justice, citing Title II of ADA, decided to intervene in a private lawsuit filed against Miami University of Ohio regarding disability discrimination based on ed tech usage. Call this a major escalation and just ask the for-profit industry how big an effect DOJ intervention can be. From the complaint:

Miami University uses technologies in its curricular and co-curricular programs, services, and activities that are inaccessible to qualified individuals with disabilities, including current and former students who have vision, hearing, or learning disabilities. Miami University has failed to make these technologies accessible to such individuals and has otherwise failed to ensure that individuals with disabilities can interact with Miami University’s websites and access course assignments, textbooks, and other curricular and co-curricular materials on an equal basis with non-disabled students. These failures have deprived current and former students and others with disabilities a full and equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from all of Miami University’s educational opportunities.

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7 collaboration opportunities beyond the display [Heinze]

On 05/13/2015, in A/V -- audio/visual, collaboration, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, higher education, K-12 related, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, productivity / tips and tricks, smart classrooms, technology (general), vendors, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

7 collaboration opportunities beyond the display — from avnetwork.com by Carolyn Heinze

Excerpt:

Traditionally—as in just a couple of years ago—collaboration was relatively limited to the display: from their laptops, participants in a meeting space could throw up documents and images onto a main display for everyone to see and, eventually, annotate. The prevalence of BYOD and scattered workforces brought mobile into the mix, enabling those who couldn’t physically attend a session to collaborate remotely, transforming smartphones and tablets into, if not primary, but secondary displays. As professionals grow increasingly comfortable incorporating these tools into their workflow, the concept of collaboration has expanded past the display and into the nitty-gritty of how organizations operate.
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Meet the 2015 CNBC Disruptor 50 companies [cnbc.com]

On 05/13/2015, in 21st century, business, change, changing business models, innovation, MBA, new business models, trends, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Meet the 2015 CNBC Disruptor 50 companies — from cnbc.com

Excerpt:

In the third annual Disruptor 50 list, CNBC features private companies in 16 industries—from aerospace to financial services to cybersecurity to retail—whose innovations are revolutionizing the business landscape. These forward-thinking upstarts have identified unexploited niches in the marketplace that have the potential to become billion-dollar businesses, and they rushed to fill them.

Here are the first 10:

1 Moderna Therapeutics Reprogramming cells to fight disease.
2 SpaceX Elon Musk’s mission to Mars.
3 Bloom Energy Live off the grid; keep the lights on.
4 Uber A $50 billion on-demand ride.
5 Airbnb The newest idea in room service: Renting one.
6 Dropbox Saving a billion files every day.
7 Palantir Tech Helped find Bin Laden. Don’t like to talk about it.
8 TransferWise Getting bankers out of the forex biz.
9 Slack Giving “slacker” a whole new meaning.
10 Warby Parker Taking on the Luxottica eyewear machine.
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Resources re: the flipped classroom

On 05/12/2015, in 21st century, active learning, blended learning, collaboration, education technology, elearning, face-to-face, faculty, flipping -- inverted learning, hybrid learning, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, pedagogy, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

First of all, a shout out to the originators of the flipped  classroom approach from back in 2009 (as I understand it and see it being practiced today):

Also see the following article from 2009:

  • The Vod Couple | From The Journal by Dian Schaffhauser | 08/01/09
    High school chemistry teachers Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann have overturned conventional classroom instruction by using video podcasts to form the root of a new learning model.

The Vod Couple

GOOD CHEMISTRY
Sams (left) and Bergmann
together practice a
student-centered pedagogy

 

Some resources re: the flipped classroom approach:

 


BestPracticesFlipCollegeClssrm-May2015

 

Description:

Best Practices for Flipping the College Classroom provides a comprehensive overview and systematic assessment of the flipped classroom methodology in higher education. The book:

  • Reviews various pedagogical theories that inform flipped classroom practice and provides a brief history from its inception in K–12 to its implementation in higher education.
  • Offers well-developed and instructive case studies chronicling the implementation of flipped strategies across a broad spectrum of academic disciplines, physical environments, and student populations.
  • Provides insights and suggestions to instructors in higher education for the implementation of flipped strategies in their own courses by offering reflections on learning outcomes and student success in flipped classrooms compared with those employing more traditional models and by describing relevant technologies.
  • Discusses observations and analyses of student perceptions of flipping the classroom as well as student practices and behaviors particular to flipped classroom models.
  • Illuminates several research models and approaches for use and modification by teacher-scholars interested in building on this research on their own campuses.

The evidence presented on the flipped classroom methodology by its supporters and detractors at all levels has thus far been almost entirely anecdotal or otherwise unreliable. Best Practices for Flipping the College Classroomis the first book to provide faculty members nuanced qualitative and quantitative evidence that both supports and challenges the value of flipping the college classroom.

 

 

 

The Flipped Classroom FAQ — from cirtl.net by Derek Bruff

Excerpts:

The usual approach:

The flipped approach:

Okay, I’m in.  How can I learn more?  Some starting points: This blog post by the University of Colorado’s Stephanie Chasteen, this resource guide from the University of Indiana at Bloomington, the K12-focused-but-still-helpful Flipped Learning Network, and the weekly #flipclass Twitter chat.

 

 

FlippedNetwork2015

 

 

Image from “The Definition Of The Flipped Classroom” — from by teachthought.com

 

 

 

Items re: the flipped classroom from educatorstechnology.com

 

Items re: the flipped classroom from teachthought.com

 

Items re: the flipped classroom from edudemic.com

 

FlippedClassroomEdudemic2015

 

 

 

Confronting my flipped classroom bias — from middleweb.com by Jody & Shara | 12/29/2013

Excerpt:

I’d always thought that the flipped classroom was mostly for teachers who lectured. So how could classroom flipping be useful to me? I only really lectured twice a year. And, wasn’t it about watching videos for homework? Not according to Cheryl, who talked about using the flipping strategy for instructions, assignments, procedures and review – in class.

The wheels in my head began turning as I remembered all those times I stood in front of my students trying to explain complicated instructions — again and again and again. I recalled the times where I modeled a skill for the students, had them practice, and then sent them home to do it on their own – and how challenging that often was for them without any ready means of support.

 

What in our course could be easily conveyed by video? What concepts did students often need to review at their own pace? What instructions would be more easily explained with a combination of audio and visual rather than (me upfront) whole-class discussion?

 

Also see:

  • My Flipped History Classroom: Year Two — from middleweb.com by Jody & Shara | 05/03/2015
    Excerpt:
    I still maintain that since I don’t lecture all that much, the flipped model of “watch lecture at home and then discuss at school” isn’t a good fit for me and my inquiry oriented classroom.
    …
    What might I do differently next year? For sure, I would limit the number of videos shown at any given time – especially at the beginning of the year. I would also involve the students in making the videos themselves. It would be an interesting project near the end of school to have the current students make instructional videos for next year’s classes – how to submit a paper, how to take notes, how to complete a particular assignment. I suspect videos by last year’s veterans would be more engaging for new students to watch and respond to.

 

 

Also see:

 

FlippedClass2

 

MoreChoiceMoreControl-DSC2

 

 

Addendum on 5/13/15:

 

 

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Teaching: What do great college professors have in common? [Sanchez]

On 05/12/2015, in adjunct faculty, faculty, higher education, learning, learning ecosystem, lifelong learning, love of learning, more voice more choice more control, pedagogy, student-related, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Teaching: What do great college professors have in common? — from kqed.org by Claudio Sanchez; an interview with Ken Bain, author of What the Best College Teachers Do. 

Excerpt:

What do the best teachers do in the classroom that’s different?
They create a critical learning environment in which students rethink their assumptions. It’s an environment in which students believe their work will be considered fairly and honestly. The best teachers allow students to try, to fail and try again. They allow students to collaborate with one another in tackling the most intriguing problems.

They treat their students with decency and respect, no matter how much a student is struggling. The best teachers trust their students rather than blame them. They often give up their own sense of power over students.

Why is that important?
Ultimately students have to take control of their own education. And if that doesn’t happen, they’re not going to learn deeply. Students have to have that intrinsic motivation and if there’s someone else in charge of their education, telling them what to do, then they’re not going to become those independent, lifelong learners. So a good teacher is there to inspire and guide the individual but ultimately to help them work on their own and take personal responsibility (for their learning).

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Avoiding Sweet Briar [2 articles from evoLLLution.com]

On 05/12/2015, in 21st century, change, colleges, faculty, higher education, leadership, liberal arts, strategy, universities, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Avoiding Sweet Briar: Five tips to help institutions become more nimble — from evoLLLution.com by Richard DeMillo

Excerpt:

Educators and administrators who study the demise of institutions like Sweet Briar must wonder what steps might have been taken to avoid a similar fate. Could Sweet Briar have foreseen the problems ahead and taken steps in a different direction? How does a modern college or university remain agile in the harsh and ever-changing marketplace of higher education?

…

There is a disconnect between how a college or university functions and public perception. From research to classroom teaching, and even to administrative duties, faculty are expected to take on too much. As a result, innovation in education—a university’s main product—often takes a back seat.

 

When institutions become too assured of their central role, they inevitably lose ground to innovators who are better connected to the needs of students.

 

 

The shape of things to come: Five changes to move off Sweet Briar’s path — from evoLLLution.com by William G. Tierney

Excerpt:

To many of us, Sweet Briar College’s closure is not a singular example of a mismanaged institution but the proverbial canary in the coalmine. Many of our postsecondary institutions—especially under-endowed small liberal arts colleges—have to start changing or they will close. What needs to happen?

 

I certainly appreciate those of us who make forlorn calls for the noble aspirations of what academic life might once have been and perhaps one day could become again. At the same time, given the pace of change, if colleges and universities don’t get more with it, they will go out of business.

 

 

Addendum on 5/19/15:

  • Reinventing the Liberal Arts College: Collaborating to Steer Clear of Sweet Briar — from evoLLLution.com by Brian Williams
    Excerpt:
    Sweet Briar College’s decision to close has given heightened attention to a set of thorny questions that higher education leaders, particularly those in liberal arts colleges, have pondered for some time, revolving around a central theme: “Why do liberal arts colleges need to change their business model and what should that change entail?”As is frequently the case, the answers are much more complicated than the questions. Although similar in many respects as a group, liberal arts colleges are quite diverse in their settings, their financial circumstances, the missions they pursue and how they allocate their resources. As was recently observed in the wake of the closing at Sweet Briar, “every small college’s circumstances are unique, as are the personalities of its leaders, and drawing conclusions based on what happened at other institutions may be of limited value.” [1]
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Millennials surpass Gen Xers as the largest generation in U.S. labor force [Fry]

On 05/11/2015, in 21st century, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, generational differences, training / L&D, trends, United States, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Millennials surpass Gen Xers as the largest generation in U.S. labor force — from pewresearch.org by Richard Fry

 

150504_genLaborForceComposition1

Excerpt:

More than one-in-three American workers today are Millennials (adults ages 18 to 34 in 2015), and this year they surpassed Generation X to become the largest share of the American workforce, according to new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

This milestone occurred in the first quarter of 2015, as the 53.5 million-strong Millennial workforce has risen rapidly. The Millennial labor force had last year surpassed that of the Baby Boom, which has declined as Boomers retire.

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Which street do we care more about, Wall Street or Main Street? [Christian]

On 05/08/2015, in 21st century, business, career development, change, corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, emerging technologies, engineering, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, robotics, society, trends, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
This posting is not meant to pick on Freightliner or any other particular company.  But the articles listed below (not to mention many other articles re: Google’s self-driving car or re: other technologies) caused me to reflect upon the ramifications of our decisions.  The articles made me reflect upon the heart of capitalism and how/why we make the decisions we do within our corporations.  That is, what happens when our corporations answer to Wall Street but not to Main Street?  What are the ramifications to us, to our neighbors, to our neighborhoods, and to our nation? For that matter, to our very future?

And the topic is far bigger than self-driving trucks.  The replacement of people with technology has been going on for quite some time. Modern day examples include ATM machines, self-service scanners/checkouts at the store, telephone switches and automatic voice response units, and more.

Readers of this blog will know that I’m generally pro-technology and that I see technologies as tools.  However, replacing people with technologies at the pace that we’re seeing these days causes me to seriously pause…especially when jobs/humans seem to be being replaced far faster than new jobs are being created.

 

Freightliner unveils first autonomous semi-truck licensed to drive itself on highways — from spectrum.ieee.org by Evan Ackerman

 

Excerpt:

[On May 5, 2015], Freightliner introduced the world to its Inspiration truck, a prototype for the first semi-truck capable of fully autonomous highway driving that’s been officially licensed to operate on public highways in Nevada.

 

Mercedes shows off self-driving “Future Truck 2025” — from spectrum.ieee.org by Philip E. Ross

 

Freightliner-Self-DrivingTruck-May2015

 

From DSC:
Hmm…though this truck looks like some incredible engineering, I’m more interested in addressing the overall trend here…and it’s a very troubling trend indeed.  I say troubling because I see our corporations much more inclined towards answering to Wall Street, but not so much to Main Street. If the incentive is to maximize value for investors — regardless of the costs to society at large — then we as a nation could end up with far larger societal issues than we’ve ever encountered before.

 

If we answer to Wall Street, we will chose the less expensive algorithm or robot every time.

 

For example, if more lower and middle class jobs disappear, and people are out of work…downward spirals could start happening all over the place (and as you’ll see below and in many other articles out there, the trend of automation, robotics, algorithms, and other technologies replacing people isn’t limited to blue collar positions). People could get discouraged after not being able to find jobs.  The rising cost of college and getting re-trained may be out of reach for many. Despair could set in along with increased use of drugs — addictions, crime, and violence could become more prevalent. Such things could lead to more broken families, increased incarceration, etc.  These types of situations, in turn, would bring more costs in a variety of ways to our nation. Issues that could quickly have inter-generational, long-lasting impact.

The replacement of jobs is at all levels and covers white collar positions as well. For example, also see:

  • 5 white-collar jobs robots already have taken – from fortune.com by Erik Sherman
    Artificial intelligence, robotics and new disruptive technology are challenging white-collar professions that previously seemed invulnerable:
    Financial and Sports Reporters
    Online Marketers
    Anesthesiologists, Surgeons, and Diagnosticians
    E-Discovery Lawyers and Law Firm Associates
    Financial Analysts and Advisors
    .
  • The new bookkeeper is a robot — from by Vipal Monga
    In corporate finance departments, software does tasks that once took armies of people
    .
  • Automation replacing service, white-collar workers — from daytondailynews.com by Dave Larsen
    Excerpt:
    Robots and artificial intelligence are rapidly moving beyond the factory floor to new roles in service industries, which account for four out of five U.S. jobs. Many agricultural and manufacturing workers already have been replaced by machines that work faster and more efficiently, and other occupations, including some white-collar jobs, will soon follow, experts said.
    .

So the above articles made me reflect on the heart of capitalism and what is driving it for us. If we answer to Wall Street, we will chose the less expensive algorithm or robot every time. But if we stop and think about the costs of getting rid of too many jobs too quickly, we may want to temper things a bit and either provide more resources for helping people get re-tooled for a new job and/or we could decide not to go with that algorithm or that robot after all.

This posting won’t go into other possible solutions. But if you are interested in obtaining further information on this trend and for further thoughts/potential solutions re: it, see the work of Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee.

 

DSC-which-street-do-we-care-more-abt-May2015

 

It’s important to note that this isn’t just a problem for someone else to deal with; we’re all in this boat together.  “No man is an island” — a saying that still rings true.

———-

Additional questions:

  • What do these trends mean for how we educate our children? Our young adults?
  • What do these trends mean for remaining marketable over a lifetime?
  • How do these things affect higher education — our curricula, programs, degrees, and certificates?
  • How will these things affect alternative forms of credentialing?

 

———-

Addendums:

 

 

 

Addendum on 7/15/15:

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Higher Education 2.0 & the Next Few Hundred Years; or, How to Create a New Higher Education Ecosystem [LeBlanc]

On 05/06/2015, in 21st century, accreditation, business side of he, change, dangers of the status quo, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, by Daniel Christian

Higher Education 2.0 and the Next Few Hundred Years; or, How to Create a New Higher Education Ecosystem — from educause.edu by Paul J. LeBlanc

Excerpt:

Three important developments stand to dramatically change the way we think about degree programs and pathways:

  1. The rapid adoption of competency-based education (CBE) programs, often using industry and employer authority for guiding the creation of the competencies and thus programs
  2. An eventual move to suborganizational accreditation, with Title IV funds available for credits, courses, and microcredentials offered by new providers in new delivery models, part of the accelerating trend toward “unbundling” higher education
  3. Increasing recognition that postsecondary education will no longer be contained to the existing and traditional degree levels but will instead be consumed at various levels of granularity—less than full degree programs and continuing throughout lives and careers

If these game changers come to fruition (and they are already taking shape today), we will see an exciting new ecosystem take hold in higher education. Together, these developments are poised to end the monopoly that traditional higher education holds on postsecondary education and to erode the sole authority it has over what counts for quality and relevancy. Smart and agile institutions will respond and even thrive in this changing environment. They will do so alongside new competitors as more providers emerge to compete for students, making the higher education marketplace diverse and robust.

…

Also, industry is not sitting idly by the phone waiting for higher education to call. General Assembly, a leader among the new sector of programming schools (aka coding boot camps), has launched its own credentialing system…

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Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week [edutopia.org]

On 05/06/2015, in hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week — from edutopia.org

 

 

 

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World’s first open online MBA to be launched by MOOC platform Coursera [Murray]

On 05/05/2015, in business, collaboration, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, marketing/social marketing, MBA, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, strategy, student-related, training / L&D, United States, using teams, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

World’s first open online MBA to be launched by MOOC platform Coursera — from by Seb Murray
The world’s first open digital MBA degree will be launched in a tie-up between Mooc maker Coursera and US b-school the University of Illinois.

Excerpt:

The world’s first open online MBA will launch in 2015 after a landmark decision from a top business school which is expected to pave the way for further digitization of the business degree and disrupt an already shaken education market.

The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign College of Business has received the seal of approval from its senate to launch the “iMBA”, in collaboration with Coursera, the $300 million-plus Silicon Valley start-up that produces MOOCs and has amassed nearly 13 million users.

 

Also see:

U. of Illinois to offer a lower-cost M.B.A., thanks to MOOCs — from chronicle.com by Jeff Young

Excerpt:

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign plans to start a low-cost online M.B.A. program in partnership with Coursera, the Silicon Valley-based MOOC provider, hoping to meet its land-grant mission of improving access and also to create a new stream of revenue at a time of shrinking state support for higher education.

Students enrolling in the new online master’s program, dubbed the iMBA, could complete the entire degree for about $20,000 — far less than the approximately $50,000 for the on-campus version or the $100,000 for the university’s executive M.B.A.

iMBA-May2015
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